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Spectacular sport 100 times over

100th Golf GTI TCR delivered in Wolfsburg

What’s at the very heart of the Volkswagen GTI DNA? A more than 40-year tradition of sportiness and reliability! It’s therefore hardly surprising that the motorsport spin-off Golf GTI TCR is entirely on course for success too. For a good two years now, it has been proving its worth around the world as a competitive vehicle in the relatively new TCR series dedicated to touring car motorsport.

The impressive rear of the Golf GTI TCR is dominated by the rear wing and the protruding wheel wells. The catalytic converters are located at the back of the exhaust pipes.

Serial winner

The sporty Golf GTI TCR was guaranteed a fascinated audience when the 100th of its kind was delivered on 23 March 2018: it is by no means an everyday event to witness the roadworthy touring racer automatically glide out of one of the two glass delivery towers before covering the final few metres down the lane of the delivery pavilion under its own steam, emitting a throaty sound from its exhaust as it goes. There’s no doubt about it – even when parked between two brand-new, sparkling Golf GTI road models, this exceptional, highly polished white sports car is the undisputed star of the show on this spring morning. The new owner of vehicle number 100 is the racing team owner Franz Engstler. This car fanatic from the Allgäu region, who was a successful Touring car driver earlier, put the very first Golf GTI TCR into racing use and was obviously not going to miss out on the opportunity to collect this special touring car himself.

Broad design for the racetrack
The broad-shouldered bodywork is unmistakably Golf, yet fascinatingly different at the same time. In line with the update to the series models, the Golf GTI TCR was given a subtle facelift in the form of a new front and fresh LED tail lights. The protruding GFRP wheel arches are especially striking: the body kit is a functional eye-catcher and further emphasises the typical Golf shoulders and the broad C-pillar profile. It offers the voluminous 260-66 R18 racing tyres and the substantially wider toe compared with the series Golf plenty of room for manoeuvre. The impressive TCR aluminium wing with a splitter adds the finishing aerodynamic touch and ensures that the front-wheel drive vehicle’s stability is maintained, even when pushed to the limits in racing. The dimensions have also increased – a total length of 4.60 metres (including the spoiler) and round about 15 centimetres more width make the Golf GTI TCR a large-calibre racer.

The interior complies with FIA rules. The dashboard and door panels are reminiscent of the series models with road use approval.

This two-litre TSI engine can also be found in the normal Golf GTI. In the GTI TCR, it works with a turbocharger taken from the Golf R2 and a modified air intake.

Series production quality for racing drivers
The 2018 version of the Volkswagen Golf GTI TCR is naturally another direct descendant of the series production model. Its bodyshell is painstakingly optimised by internal motorsport experts under the supervision of Volkswagen Motorsport. It takes three weeks for individual parts ranging from the undercarriage to the roof to be specifically reinforced for motorsport use and upgraded with elements such as an integrated safety cell, a racing seat with head protectors and an FIA-compliant safety tank, all in accordance with the FIA’s stringent homologation rules. The chassis has been redesigned for track use, but sticks to the series production assembly points.

Feel the full throttle
There is an especially powerful heart beating under the bonnet modified to accommodate the intercooler: the front transverse two-litre GTI engine is hungry for revs and pulls out all the stops. The petrol direct injection engine delivers a maximum of 257 kW (350 hp) and dramatic sound to make your hairs stand on end thanks to the turbocharger taken from the Golf R and an air intake exclusively modified for racing use. Its ample torque of 420 newton metres, acceleration of 0 to 100 in 5.2 seconds and a top speed of around 250 kilometres an hour are the key driving performance facts. A production-based limited-slip differential delivers improved traction and effectively counters the threat of front axle slip. The customer can choose between dual-clutch transmission and a sequential six gang-racing gear version. Even with the immense performance reserves, an optimum shelf life is obviously always part and parcel of the specifications: Volkswagen Motorsport has systematically designed the Golf GTI TCR for multiple years of racing use.

If it says GTI on it, there is obviously also GTI in it: just under 65 per cent of all the parts used are series production components taken from the road models.

Volkswagen Motorsport Director Sven Smeets and Sebastian Wilhelms, head of vehicle deliveries at the Autostadt, symbolically presented racing team boss Franz Engstler with the steering wheel of the GTI TCR.

Cleverly composed matrix
High-quality series production components pay off twofold: the Golf GTI TCR is a production model GTI which has been uncompromisingly further developed into a puristic touring car. Nonetheless, approximately 65 per cent of its parts – including heavy-duty components such as the rear axle brake and the wheel bearings – are taken from series production. In practical terms, this composition is a major advantage, because racing use always comes down to wearing and spare parts being available quickly and inexpensively.

The driving dynamics were an experience for the professionals right from the start. ‘The GTI TCR demonstrates the incredible potential of the Modular Transverse Matrix. It’s a thoroughbred racing car at a fair price that feels perfectly balanced and is as stunningly direct as a go-kart. This vehicle, which weighs just 1,285 kilograms including the driver, has a very delayed braking point and offers incredibly direct cornering which fascinates time and again,’ says Franz Engstler in summary of the nippy Golf’s character.

Success timeline
‘After just two years on the racetrack, the Golf GTI TCR is telling an incredible success story in Volkswagen’s customer sport programme,’ concludes Volkswagen Motorsport Director Sven Smeets. The Golf family adds another interesting facet to the topic for the long term and demonstrated its winning qualities straight away with its titles at the TCR International Series in 2016 and 2017 and with the Award “TCR Car of the Year”. Privateer teams now use the Golf GTI TCR, which is available from 95,000 euros (net) in Germany, in 15 different racing series around the world. The sports car has already secured twelve international championship titles: ‘The fact that we have already produced 100 vehicles in just under two years is a fantastic achievement for the entire team’, as Smeets told.

The specified fuel consumption and emission data have been determined according to the measurement procedures prescribed by law. Since 1st September 2017, certain new vehicles are already being type-approved according to the Worldwide Harmonized Light Vehicles Test Procedure (WLTP), a more realistic test procedure for measuring fuel consumption and CO2 emissions. Starting on September 1st 2018, the New European Driving Cycle (NEDC) will be replaced by the WLTP in stages. Owing to the more realistic test conditions, the fuel consumption and CO2 emissions measured according to the WLTP will, in many cases, be higher than those measured according to the NEDC. For further information on the differences between the WLTP and NEDC, please visit www.volkswagen.de/wltp.

We are currently still required by law to state the NEDC figures. In the case of new vehicles which have been type-approved according to the WLTP, the NEDC figures are derived from the WLTP data. It is possible to specify the WLTP figures voluntarily in addition until such time as this is required by law. In cases where the NEDC figures are specified as value ranges, these do not refer to a particular individual vehicle and do not constitute part of the sales offering. They are intended exclusively as a means of comparison between different vehicle types. Additional equipment and accessories (e.g. add-on parts, different tyre formats, etc.) may change the relevant vehicle parameters, such as weight, rolling resistance and aerodynamics, and, in conjunction with weather and traffic conditions and individual driving style, may affect fuel consumption, electrical power consumption, CO2 emissions and the performance figures for the vehicle.

Further information on official fuel consumption figures and the official specific CO2 emissions of new passenger cars can be found in the “Guide on the fuel economy, CO2 emissions and power consumption of new passenger car models”, which is available free of charge at all sales dealerships and from DAT Deutsche Automobil Treuhand GmbH, Hellmuth-Hirth-Str. 1, D-73760 Ostfildern, Germany and at www.dat.de.